Large Station of the Year

Nottingham (East Midlands Railway)

“Nottingham has been transformed into an iconic large station which really ‘wowed’ us and now provides a striking entrance to the city,” said the NRA judges.

Another previous winner (from 2016), the Grade 2 Listed station received high praise for its “beautifully restored facades” and for its ticket office that “blends into modern retail facilities and level access to the high-level tram interchange and large multi-storey car park”.

The judges added: “Helpful staff were volunteering help to passengers throughout the station.”

First built by the Midland Railway in 1848, the current station dates to 1904, when it was rebuilt in response to the opening of the magnificent Nottingham Victoria station by the rival Great Northern and Great Central Railways.

The two stations shared the same architect (Albert Edward Lambert), who was also responsible for designing Leicester Midland in a similar Edwardian Baroque Revival style using terracotta bricks.

In September 1967, Nottingham Midland became the city’s sole major station. It is served by express services to London St Pancras and local and inter-regional trains to Norwich, Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Birmingham, Matlock, Skegness, Crewe and Worksop.

It is also a key interchange with the city’s tram system, following its opening in 2004 and subsequent extension across the top of the station in 2014.

A £60 million redevelopment was also given the green light to pedestrianise the porte cochère (which had been traffic-choked when used as a drop-off point by motorists), restore heritage features, and build a new southern concourse and car park.

These areas had sustained extensive damage following a fire in January 2018, but have since been fully repaired.

The station underwent major remodelling and resignalling in 2013, to increase the number of platforms to seven and to improve line speeds and reduce conflicting movements on its western approach. It was used by almost eight million passengers in 2019-20.

Highly Commended: Paddington (Elizabeth line), Cambridge (Greater Anglia).